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Take a Chill Pill, Jonathan.

Jonathan Dobrer is one of my favorite writers on this planet. But I’ve never disagreed more vehemently than with his suggestion that pilots who need prozac should be grounded.

For better or worse, this is the Age of Meds. Many of us use them to function at a higher rate, especially those under the age of the Boomer demographic, because less stigma has been involved in recent decades.

If a pilot is operating under hallicinations and nausea, I think the crew will know soon enough if he or she has a problem that endangers passengers. If he or she is operating under depression or generalized anxiety disorder, with no medical recourse, good luck when his or her nerves are just impaired enough to cause the whole plane to crash.

But what strikes me as insulting is where Jonathan’s ban would end. Just pilots, or with anyone else who has to operate a car or make a judgment call or raise a child?

Fair comment Rob. But two points remain:
1. The reason given for change is recognizing that they are already in non-compliance and thus FAA is giving up.
2. Contrast with obsession around drug testing in sports when only lives in balance are the jocks.

I meant the piece to be partly serious but also to point to absurdity of our drug policies.
Cheers!
Jonathan

Rob Asghar

I can see that, sort of, JD. But still, in order to make your point, you argued that people who use Prozac are a menace to society. I’m not sure I can be convinced that this was a worthwhile rhetorical device!

Jonathan Dobrer

I don’t think that users of anti-anxiety meds or anti-depressants are a menace to society. No insult meant. Being both a child of the 60s and in my 60s I have an impressive pharmaceutical history (and present). My issue is more with the FAA process and our societal hypocrisy and some ironies.

I know commercial pilots with alcohol problems. I look at our obsessive drug testing of jocks and wonder why we let pilots go with honor system and know that they do not all honor the system.

For FAA to say it’s just too hard and there’s too much non-compliance is not acceptable. Random drug and alcohol tests should be part of implied consent in flying commercially.

Flying clearly puts more people at risk than basketball, football and track (except maybe for the javelin!)
Cheers!
Jonathan

Rob Asghar

JD, the first paragraph of your piece makes the hypocrisy case. The second two just don’t.